Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 591 › Conversation 591-001

Nixon & Butterfield on Executive Order and White House Administration

Wednesday, October 13, 1971 · 3:36 PM–3:41 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation591-001 on Tape 591 (tape position 00:01:41–00:02:55)StartWednesday, October 13, 1971 at 3:36 PMEndWednesday, October 13, 1971 at 3:41 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 591-001 ↗

President Nixon met with Alexander P. Butterfield to review and finalize an executive order. The brief discussion focused on administrative logistics regarding the President's schedule and official documentation. The meeting concluded with the President confirming the status of the order.

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This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 00:01:41 into the tape and ends around 00:02:55.

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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1:44So this is your executive order now.

On October 13, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:36 pm and 3:41 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 591-001 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 591-1

Date: October 13, 1971
Time: Unknown between 3:36 pm and 3:41 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     The President's schedule

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 3:41 pm.
  • 011-085 1:43 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 1:43 pm to 1:50 pm.
  • 590-013 1:50 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:50 pm and 2:57 pm.
  • 590-014 1:50 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:50 pm and 2:57 pm.
  • 011-111 2:24 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:24 pm and 4:56 pm.
  • 590-015 2:57 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:57 pm to 3:12 pm.
  • 590-016 3:12 PM · 2 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:12 pm and 11:59 pm.
  • 591-002 3:44 PM · 1 hr 28 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), Rose Mary Woods, Charles W. Colson, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:44 pm to 5:18 pm.
  • 591-003 5:18 PM · 1 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:18 pm and 11:59 pm.

Conversation 591-001, October 13, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/591-001 (accessed September 28, 2026).